Sade beguilng as ever at Staples Center opener

Is there an aging portrait of Sade tucked away somewhere in Nigeria? Some soul-selling deal still in place that was struck without her consent, before her English mother moved her back to the U.K. at age 4, just as Beatlemania was erupting?

She's 52 now, but you wouldn't know it to gaze upon her unchanged beauty. Madonna is a year older and looks every day of it, no matter how lithely yoga-fit she remains. Ms. Adu, on the other hand, the transfixing chanteuse with the smoky voice who returned Friday night for a stretch of Southern California performances with her same-named band after a decade away -- she doesn't seem the slightest bit different than she did in 2001, or 1992, or even 1985.

Her wrinkle-free face and ruby red lips: still the same. Her raven mane, initially pulled back to accent a tight black cat-suit of an outfit, complete with stiletto heels, then later let loose to cascade atop a sparkling white gown: still exactly the same. And has she gained even an ounce? Google a picture of her from Live Aid and place it next to any fan-snapped shot from this sold-out show at Staples Center – the time-defying similarities are stunning.

What has changed, albeit subtly, is Sade's live demeanor, plus the staging that supports it. Right from the start, as she and her eight-man band rose up from underneath an otherwise empty stage to march through the martial groove of “Soldier of Love,” the iconic vocalist appeared demonstrably happier than she was 10 years ago.

When she wowed at the former Irvine Meadows back then, touring behind Lovers Rock (2000), you could detect a distance between artist and audience. Clearly grateful for the adulation, she still presented herself as almost untouchable, the sophisticated ice queen re-emerged from seclusion for a rare sighting before hurrying back to her palace.

But at Friday's Staples opener – her first of three shows at the L.A. arena ahead of dates later this month and next in Anaheim, San Diego and Ontario (seven shows in all, as many as Lady Gaga's recent runs) – she was precisely the opposite: though her every silhouetted pose and seductive wiggle was perfectly timed, every set piece expertly put in place, there was a palpable feeling that Sade was relishing the moment more than ever.

No matter how stoic or placid her delivery was meant to be – at various times that's obviously the intention, not just her natural mien – she still couldn't keep from breaking into broad, beaming smiles at the outpouring of overcome cheering. “I feel like Lucky Jim tonight,” she told the crowd. “I won the lottery – I've got my amazing band, I've got my amazing crew, and I've got you.”

Her faithful fans, eagerly awaiting this return for more than a year since Sade's last platinum chart-topping album dropped, were awash in adoration, and the feeling seemed mutual. To borrow a phrase from one of her '80s peers, Sade herself appeared fully caught up in the rapture of love.

That remains her one great topic, in all its manifestations: new love, lasting love, broken love, healing love, above all sensual and obsessive love – love that's “wider than Victoria Lake, taller than the Empire State.” Apart from a pair of sorrowful character sketches – the delicate “Jezebel,” her jazzy refrains smoldering while Sade sat perched at the lip of the stage, and the suffering “Pearls,” in a starkly dramatic reading that found the singer alone on the stage – everything else in this two-hour, 21-song set was devoted to her resolute belief in the power of love. The titles bear that out: “Love Is Stronger Than Pride,” “Love Is Found,” “Your Love Is King,” “No Ordinary Love.”

Those last two elicited initially deafening responses, as did several other fixtures of her songbook: “Smooth Operator,” treated to a neon-noir cityscape, the star and her band clad in gumshoe elegance; “The Sweetest Taboo,” its calypso sway pumped up by congas and dappled with melodica. Best of all was an instinctively paced version of “Is It a Crime,” a show-stopping number draped in red velvet, punctuated by a superb sax solo from Stuart Matthewman, and luxuriant enough for Sade's still-powerful voice to purr and allure but then explode into flawlessly executed swoops and wails. She's still among the mightiest singers alive.

But that's the Sade of the '80s revamped for now. Much of the rest of the performance was devoted to the more thoroughly modern Ms. Adu, whose hankering for thicker bass and creeping beats, first surfacing on Love Deluxe in 1992, has only deepened in the nearly two decades between that release and Soldier of Love, from which six selections have been chosen for this tour.

It's a testament to Sade the band – including mainstays Matthewman (also on guitar), Paul Spencer Denman (bass) and Andrew Hale (keys), all of whom have backed her since '83 or earlier – that all the material, old and new, felt updated without seeming fussed-over or heavily rearranged. This group has always had skill enough to switch from, say, lounge jazz to Caribbean flow in an instant. What's commendable is the care they've taken to retain their original sound while enhancing it with fresh flavors; at times the sumptuous electro-rock they concocted here had the grandeur of fellow U.K. acts like Faithless or more accessible Portishead.

Sade experiences are generally pretty Spartan in nature – she and her guys have always preferred a clean, uncluttered stage, the better to achieve the same sleek elegance her music evokes. But this presentation is theatrical through and through, smartly divided into three segments (each spotlighting a different outfit) and complete with a giant scrim, occasionally lowered into place, onto which bleakly attractive images were often projected, leaving the singer enveloped in wintry gauze. It's so immaculately detailed, so efficiently engaging, it's a shame this couldn't have played the Pantages instead.

Of course, Sade would have needed to set up residency there for a month to accommodate the more than 100,000 people who will savor her husky, soulful singing at these local performances. (O.C. stops: Aug. 30-31 at Honda Center, also with sharp opening act John Legend delivering a mix of his breezy hits plus a cover of Adele's “Rolling in the Deep.”) She had to maximize. Imagine the clamor for tickets, not to mention how high scalper rates would have skyrocketed, had she only headlined a couple dates at a midsize venue.

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